A Friend in Need
by Yva J
Summary: When Kelsey Henderson gets attacked by a dog, Willy Wonka is forced to emerge from the shadows and lend a helping hand. Wilder Wonka story.
1. Prologue

_Hello everyone,_

_This is a five part story, it is for the most part completed, but I'm pondering why I even wrote it. I had contemplated writing it just for myself and then thought maybe someone here might actually get something out of it. What? I haven't the foggiest._

_I suppose I ought to explain why I wrote it. I am not used to writing what I call the 'typical cheesy romances' where the attraction is the main idea. In fact, I really do not get off on writing about the girl in trouble and the guy comes to the rescue, tralalalala, it just seems way too Mary-Sueish and we have enough of those around here anyway._

_This particular idea would simply not let me go. I would be working on my other story, and this idea would just keep creeping into my mind saying 'you have to write this and I'm not going to leave you alone until you do'. So, I finally decided to write it so that I could move on and continue with my other story. I suppose the real reason why I wrote it was for the underlying spiritual meaning behind it. That concept of beauty being within each person._

_So, with that said, this is the story. For the record, the other parts are much, much longer, in fact, I generally hate posting such short scrawny chapters, but this is a prologue, so maybe you will bear with me on that and I'll try to get the first real part posted sometime today._

_Read on, friends._

_**This story is based on the Gene Wilder portrayal of Willy Wonka!!!**_

* * *

**A Friend in Need**

By: Yva J.

**Prologue**

Kelsey Henderson was twenty-six-years-old the second time in her life that she had been attacked. Her attacker had not been someone, but rather something. For as long as she could remember, the young woman had been absolutely terrified of dogs.

This unshakable phobia began when she had been just a little girl and had been attacked by a neighbor's hunting dog. Today, the mere sight of them out on the street made her breathing grow ragged and her heartbeat quicken. After all, anything that served as a reminder of that childhood attack somehow haunted her today. The physical incarnation of that particular event was present on the calf of her left leg.

Generally, Kelsey loved animals, but try as she might, she could not hide the fact that dogs, regardless of size, frightened her. This could perhaps explain why it was she had been easy prey on that particular evening.

Through a strange, albeit nightmarish series of events, she would come to discover that not only had she not been alone, but that there was another person who related to her feelings of isolation in a very profound and empowering way. Who that someone was, would serve as a constant reminder to her that one not only finds a friend in the most unlikely of places, but they also find love.

This was indeed a time that neither Kelsey nor a reclusive chocolatier would ever forget. Somehow it represented a moment in her life where she would not only learn a valuable lesson about caring, but where she would come to understand that her feelings of unrequited love, could, in fact, be reciprocated.

It was a moment that would change her life forever, but it would also serve as a reminder to all people everywhere that beauty is found within and that love truly holds no bounds.

This is her story…


	2. Part 1: Unforseen Circumstances

_As promised, here is the first part to this story._

_Enjoy._

* * *

**Part 1: Unforeseen Circumstances**

On the surface, Kelsey was considered a very homely sort of young woman. To her peers, although highly intelligent, she was never described as beautiful or even pretty. On the bridge of her nose, aside from a great many freckles, rested a pair of thick-rimmed glasses. This accessory was quite unattractive and it looked as though it was made from some sort of cheap imitation plastic. The lenses were what some would call bottle-cap lenses, in that each one looked to be about three centimeters thick. Brushing against her shoulders was long straight dirty blonde hair that she usually wore in a simple ponytail that hung down over her back.

Kelsey was extremely introverted, that is, she tried to do whatever she could to prevent people from actually looking at, or even noticing, her. Her wardrobe proved that point to a 't', outdated with long skirts and miss-matched tops. She walked the university grounds looking like a sore thumb sticking out in a crowd. Generally, her clothing was just as drab as the rest of her and people generally made note of that wherever she went. It was no secret that the young woman was nothing more than an eccentric oddity among the sociological norms.

Along with her mode of dress, she seemed to carry herself in a manner that made people avoid her. She walked with her head lowered, many times her eyes staring at the pages of a book instead of making eye contact with those whom she passed. Most people only knew her by sight, but not by name. They believed that she was the direct depiction of what a nerd truly was.

The young woman seemed to live her life for the sake of learning. All that she seemed to acquire from one day to the next was the genuine thirst for knowledge. Along those same lines, no one could really see the hidden side to her personality because the wall that she had built up around herself was higher than the highest smokestack of Willy Wonka's famous chocolate factory.

If anyone where to have inquired, the young woman had never truly been out on a date, she did not know how to act around men, and they seemed to be a fascination that was too far out of her reach.

Kelsey had seen just about every romantic movie that came out at the Sunday matinee, but to say that she had fallen in love was something that she had never experienced in her life. Oh sure, she fantasized enough about it, mostly through a scrapbook with faces and names of people she yearned to know, but had never really met.

Willy Wonka's likeness was the most prominent face in her notebook; his curly hair and dimpled smile always seemed to make her heart skip a beat. She carried a torch for the reclusive man, but her realism said that the closest she would ever get to looking into his dynamic blue eyes was through the book she kept hidden in her flat. This was another unrealized dream of a girl who considered herself to be 'too ugly for words'.

Ever since that fateful day in October when he emerged to meet the five Golden Ticket winners, the famous confectioner had somehow captured her imagination and she never ceased to ponder what it would be like to meet and speak with him. Of course, her internalized conflict said that the chances of that happening were rather remote.

One of the memories that made her realize that she would never have a chance at finding a kind-hearted person seemed to draw back from her senior prom. The prom had actually been her only real encounter with a boy, and that was because her older brother had paid his best friend, Stuart, to take her to the prom. He took her there all right, but left her there, thus forcing her to hail a cab back home.

Ever since that single solitary event, her dreams of romance somehow bordered on the impossible.

* * *

On this particular evening, Kelsey was on her way home from the local library. She had spent much of the afternoon and early parts of the evening working on her thesis in linguistics. This was her usual activity; go to class, have lunch, and then spend the afternoon studying. She would then leave the library and walk home. This would happen the minute her stomach had started to growl, thus indicating that the library would soon be closing and that it was nearing dinnertime.

Kelsey lived alone in a one-room flat on the edge of the park. Strangely, from where she had been attacked, one could easily see her living room window.

Of course, with this event came disillusion, and she found herself completely turned around. As her pain-filled cries pierced the air, she never contemplated the possibility of the park being a dangerous place. Such brutality was not generally something that happened in a town of this size. The place was, in fact, small enough where people felt safe enough to leave their windows and doors unlocked.

Yet there she was, lying wounded on the ground, encased in shadows and surrounded by trees. The tears of agony streamed down over her face, but as she tried to move, all that she felt was the mud caking her clothing. Her body in more pain than she could have anticipated.

By this time, the sky was growing darker by the minute, the wind rustling in the trees. Kelsey knew that if it got any darker, no one would know or care that she was even there. Because she lived alone, she knew that no one would worry or feel inclined to go out searching for her.

Staring out through heavily lidded eyes, her soft sobs abruptly filled the empty air. She tried to crawl her way back in the direction that she thought was home, but having tried to outrun the animal, she had only gotten herself turned completely around. Disoriented, she was now going in a direction that she did not know, the path was becoming more and more muddy and her pain becoming all the more unbearable.

The books she carried were now covered with blood as well as mud. She allowed them to remain where they were, the pages ripped and strewn about. She had not moved very far since the animal was captured and the owner had taken it away.

Thinking that the animal's owner would lend a hand, she was horrified that he did not. The man had approached and instead of offering any sort of assistance, he had cruelly left her there on the ground, his words filling her ears as he grabbed the collar of the dog and affixed the leash. "If we get out of here now, then no one can trace this, and you won't be taken away," he had muttered as they left. Kelsey moaned in soft protest, but the man said and did nothing to render assistance, in fact, he only seemed concerned with saving his dog's hide.

Now, Kelsey lay on the ground, her hands groping along it, as she felt the tears of agony washing down over her face. The blood smeared down over her clothes as she tried to half walk, half crawl, in the direction of civilization.

"Please God," she whimpered softly. "Don't let me die." Continuing to drag herself through the mud, she could feel her hands scraping across the earth, the wet dirt mixing with the blood that was now seeping into the ground.

Biting down on her lip, she crawled slowly along the path towards the lights that were in the distance. She inhaled slowly as her eyes closed and she felt herself collapsing face down on the ground. Seconds passed before all conscious thought left her.

* * *

At about the same time the attack was happening, Willy Wonka had left the sanctuary of his factory to go out for a walk. The park was one of his favorite places in town to visit, in fact, he always seemed to enjoy the quiet solitude that afforded itself to him. It was always this way whenever he needed fresh air and a chance to think about whatever crossed his mind. Whether it was to ponder past events or what was occurring in the Inventing Room on that particular day, the thoughts of the confectionary genius seemed to roam about a mile a minute.

He walked through the park perhaps once or twice a week, the fresh air somehow revitalizing his thoughts and giving rise to new ideas. He remained open to inspiration and felt that the time alone in nature somehow gave him something new to ponder. It was no secret that he had not slowed down with his candy making and inventive ideas since the Golden Ticket contest had happened. In fact, it seemed as though Willy Wonka was even more inspired with his ideas than ever before.

Perhaps he had given his factory over to a new successor, but that did not necessarily mean that he had left the place. In fact, he had done no such thing, his drive and creative genius were still very much intact. Charlie Bucket, upon reaching his fourteenth birthday had begged him to stay and help him run the factory. This was a request, which Willy had wholeheartedly agreed to and now instead of his intended departure, Willy and Charlie shared the responsibility of running the factory and caring for the Oompa Loompas.

The curly headed confectioner also knew that aside from the factory, he would have no real place to go or hang his hat, so he opted to staying. Today, the two of them had become a force to be reckoned with. Charlie was not only a very good friend, but they had pretty much cornered the market with innovative ideas and new candies that thrilled young and old alike. It was clear that they were now a team.

Strangely enough, many people actually believed that Willy Wonka was gone, either dead or in another place entirely. No one had even the faintest idea that he was walking among them, his presence very much active in the community.

It was during this time in his life that Willy knew that he was truly happy. Right now during this moment, he felt as though he was sitting in the middle of something rather extraordinary.

Glancing around the area where he was now walking, he could smell the crisp air indicative of what one feels right after a rain shower. The first signs of spring had started to show, the air was crisp and filled with new vitality. He drummed his cane along the path as he slowly made his way.

In the distance, he could make out the sounds of a dog barking. These sounds, however, instead of emerging in a friendly or outgoing manner, seemed to be rather out of place in relation to the general goings on in the park. Willy had walked enough times in this particular area to know when something fit with the overall essence and when it did not, and this most certainly did not.

Abruptly, the barking died off, and soon he stopped when he noticed that several meters ahead of him, a small mound of brownness was sprawled out along the path. He was not certain what it was, but he was far too curious to turn and walk away from it. He inched his way closer to investigate, the only illumination that emanated the area was cast by a single light from an overhead streetlamp.

Coming closer, he noticed that what looked to be a clump of uneven earth now seemed to take on the shape of a human body. With the end of his cane, he lightly nudged the object and watched in horror as it rolled over and revealed that it was the body of a young woman. She lay sprawled out on the ground, her face covered with open wounds. Mud was smeared all around her.

As he crouched down beside her, he could hear the soft pain-filled sobs emerging from between her lips. He touched her side, his words emerging. "Miss? Are you alright?"

No answer emerged, in fact, Willy could instinctively tell that the girl was not about to speak, she was delirious and perhaps could not.

He touched her arm and suddenly flinched when he felt a mass of gooey stickiness seeping through the sleeve of her jacket. Bringing these findings closer so he could inspect what it was, he gasped when he realized that it was blood. She looked as though she had been hurt pretty badly, her body covered with blood. He tried to shake her slightly, his desperate words emerging. "Come on, miss, please wake up."

When she still did not move or attempt to make a sound, the chocolatier inhaled and exhaled slowly before carefully rolling her onto her back. He knew of the dangers of moving a person after having been injured, but it was abundantly clear that he did not want to leave her on the ground a second longer.

Carefully, he picked her up in his arms. One of the books was still cradled in her hands and he immediately recognized it as the complete Sonnets of William Shakespeare. Memories flooded over him, and that alone made the decision for him. Instead of sending her to be treated by the local hospital, he decided to take her back to the factory.

Instead of trying to coax her awake, he managed to carry her unmoving body through the trees in the direction of his property. Upon reaching the sidewalk that paralleled the large complex, he managed to fish out his keys. Approaching a side gate, he unlocked it and made his way inside, his precious cargo still lying unmoving in his arms.

From there, he quickly reached a secret door leading into the factory, his hand trying to grip the right key.

Once he managed to get inside, he looked down at her, his eyes taking in the attributes of her face. Much to his dismay, it was puffy and swollen, but the glasses had apparently been the only thing to have protected her eyes from whoever, or whatever, it was that had attacked her.

As he reached the inner hallway of the factory, and his eyes had adjusted to the light, he could make out a purple-ness of her features, which reminded him of Violet Beauregarde after the blueberry incident.

He took a deep breath. It was hard for him to tell very much about the girl, as one side of her face looked as though it had been bitten pretty badly. His heart sorely went out to her as he stared down at her unmoving face. Passing under a light, he realized what felt familiar about her. She was the girl he had been watching in the park, the very same one he felt a strange attraction to. This was such a terrible thing for her to have to live with, the chocolatier thought with an unhappy sigh.

As he reached the factory's medical wing, he informed his medical staff of what had happened and left the girl in the capable hands of his workers. Rabies shots were ordered up, as well as a bath, and someone came to stitch up her injuries.

For his part, Willy retreated to the back of the room and simply waited.


	3. Part 2: To The Rescue

_Many, many thanks to the two people who took the time to read and review this story. I am really quite happy to say that the story is completed and will be posted through to the end. I hope that this will encourage others to review it and not give up on me as a writer. I will eventually go back to 'The Searchers', but it will take some time for me to do so._

_I think I know now why this story idea took hold of me and why I had to write it. It wasn't to attack the Mary Sue concepts here or to even write one. It was instead because of this feeling of beauty that seems a underlying premise in this particular piece. I am glad I wrote it now, even though when I started posting it, I had no idea as to why I was doing so._

_Writing this scene with Willy did somehow make everything clearer to me. I hope that you enjoy it, and that you will let me know what you think. Perhaps it is a piece in which I can be proud of after all._

_Enjoy._

* * *

**Part 2: To The Rescue**

Several hours later, Kelsey's eyes slowly opened and she gasped at the shadows that literally swallowed her up. She hated the darkness, but that, added to the fact that she was not at home, somehow compounded her apprehension.

Next to where she was lying, she could hear the sounds of someone breathing. This simple resonance caused her fear to mount, but it brought to mind questions as to where specifically she was. Her initial thoughts were centered on the idea that someone had found her and managed to transport her to a hospital.

As she licked her lips, she suddenly tasted the dry warmth that seemed to reside in the air. Her hands were tucked under what felt like satin sheets, the coolness of them against her warm skin made her realize quite suddenly that she was not in a hospital.

Where was she then?

She moved her head to one side, in the hopes of seeing where she was, but she could not make out any sort of distinguishing characteristics. The room where she found herself was dark and uninviting. With her hands, she tried to use her sense of touch as a means in which to acquaint herself with her surroundings.

Her body still felt very weak and she pulled her hands from beneath the sheets so that she could raise them in order to touch her face. As she did this, she suddenly felt a gentle hand capturing hers and holding it carefully, but still firmly. When this person said nothing, she pulled her other hand from beneath the covers in the hope of touching her face with it. When it too was captured in a similar hold, she gasped.

Frightened, she began to cry softly, the pain in her sobs suddenly filling the quietness of the room. She attempted to pull her hands out of this hold, but she soon had to give in to the fact that she could not. As her tears began to soak whatever it was that covered and concealed her eyes, she continued to frantically pull on her hands in the hope of freeing them from the stranger's hold. She succeeded once, but her hand was quickly recaptured and soon she felt both of them being pressed firmly, but gently, between two bigger and stronger hands.

"You're safe Kelsey, no one is going to hurt you here," the person whispered. She immediately recognized that the cadence matched that of a man. The soft tone of his voice made her suddenly stop struggling, but her eyes widened in wonderment upon hearing him speak her name.

"Y-you k-know my n-name? How?" She managed to utter, but her words emerged as nothing more than a group of unintelligible murmurs.

"I found your first name on the library card that was in your pocket," he said, his voice remaining soft. It was abundantly clear, that she was still frightened. Before she could respond, he carefully tucked her hands beneath the covers. He then reached over and turned on the small lamp that was next to the bed. As the soft dim light filled the room, his words continued. "Is that better?"

Kelsey stopped everything she was doing, and could feel that her eyes, although covered, only had a thin sheath of fabric over them. Now that she was able to adjust to the light, she could see his silhouette next to her. "Yes, but I'm still scared…" She tried to formulate these words, but for some reason, she could not. Instead she simply offered him an insecure nod.

They sat in silence for several moments, neither speaking, but soon she pulled her hands once more from beneath the covers. As she reached for her face, he captured them once again. This time instead of just holding her hands, he was lightly rubbing them as though trying to bring life back into an old limb. She opened her mouth to speak, but instead, his voice emerged.

"Shhh, don't try to speak, you've been through something rather traumatic tonight and words are simply not necessary," he said gently. "Just relax, Kelsey, you're going to be alright."

She listened to his words, all the while surprised at how he seemed to know exactly what words would put her fears to rest. Although she could not help it, she concluded that he was somehow capable of reading her mind each time she opened her mouth to speak. Somehow, the soothing words that emerged from him were playing a virtual symphony with her ears.

Self-consciously, she managed to pull one of her hands away from him. Immediately, she began to run her fingers across her face. The further up she went, the more softness of gauze and tape met her expectant hand. A layer of this translucent substance covered her eyes, but feeling no pain around them, she released a relieved sigh. Her eyes had not been injured, but further down across one of her cheeks, the story was sadly quite the contrary.

As she continued to touch the area below her eyes, her hand accidentally brushed along her injured cheek and a wave of pain and dizziness literally encompassed her. The tears began to sting her eyes once again as she gasped. Seconds later, her soft cries filled the air, the pain excruciating.

The man reached over and once more took hold of the hand that had made this rather unpleasant discovery. "This is why you shouldn't have touched your face," he said compassionately. "I didn't want you to prolong your suffering." He continued to hold her hand tightly in his, but this time, and much to his surprise, her fingers had intertwined with his and she was now maintaining the hold.

"It hurts," she whimpered softly and allowed her eyes to close, his silhouette disappearing behind the folds of her eyelids.

As he looked down at her, he could see a stream of moisture as it slid down over her uninjured cheek. With his free hand, he managed to retrieve a soft white handkerchief. Leaning forward, he carefully wiped the dampness away. "I know you're in a great deal of pain, Kelsey," he said softly as he finished wiping her cheek, his contact as soothing as his words.

Eventually, as her pain began to subside, he was able to gently pull his other hand out of her grasp. As soon as he had managed this, he backed slowly away and began digging around in his pocket in order to retrieve a small dark colored container.

Taking a deep breath, he started to fiddle about with the lid. "I'm going to give you something that should help you so that you can go back to sleep. Right now that is what you really need, dear lady."

"But, I'm s-scared, w-where am I?" She tried to speak, her words emerging as though a mumbled mass of syllables.

He took a deep breath. "I know you're frightened, but believe me, you are in a safe place. I won't let anything else happen to you, you have my word on that." As these words emerged, he opened the small bottle and poured a drop of the contents onto his finger. He then leaned towards her and touched her lower lip with it.

As she felt his gentle touch, she was able to taste something that reminded her of the lime flavored snow cones that she used to have as a child. As the tangy substance made its way down her throat, she collapsed against the pillow as the world began to spin silently away.

Noticing that her body was relaxed and she was now asleep, the man nodded slowly, but continued to stare down at her. "Sweet dreams, Kelsey."

* * *

After his brief conversation with the girl, Willy Wonka started to stand up, but abruptly stopped and seated himself once again. His body was now tense and his clothing was still covered with the young woman's blood. He had no idea that a short walk in the park would bring him to discovering a woman who was half dead, caked with mud, and lying helplessly on the ground.

The strangest thing about this woman was that he knew her. He did not know her name prior to discovering it etched on the library card that she carried, but he had seen her many times before. He had watched her as she walked through the park, her steps slow and deliberate, her head mostly staring at the ground. Every so often, he would spot her walking with her head concealed behind the hard cover of a book.

He had never found the courage to approach her except for one brief instance when she had dropped a piece of paper on the ground. In the wake of this, he had hastened to retrieve it for her.

It was strange for him to see a young woman walking along the path dressed in such a strange and unique style of clothing, yet he had. He smiled as he remembered the first time he had seen her. Her clothing was mismatched and her blonde ponytail had bounced about with each step that she had taken.

The chocolatier knew nothing of the books, fantasies, or wishes that were concealed in her heart, but he did know that she seemed to carry a similar sense of isolation as he did. For this reason, Willy could, perhaps, understand her isolation far better than most. He had been alone for much of his life and these same feelings were manifested in him as well.

It was no secret that over time, she had, in fact, captured his imagination.

Whenever he would emerge from the factory and see her walking through the park in the direction of a block of flats that bordered it, he wanted nothing more than to approach and speak with her. Yet, until that day, all that he had done was watch her. He never could find the courage inside to approach her until that day when he had retrieved the paper for her. Even in doing that, the darkness that had concealed his face, had somehow given him an essence of anonymity.

He remembered her smile as well as the almost reserved 'thank you', that she had whispered upon having her work returned to her. This had, in end effect, demonstrated to him that she was notoriously shy herself.

Strange, Willy had often thought, she seems to be just as introverted as I am. Yet there was an element of kindness in her that transcended everything else he could have perceived about her.

He remembered how she had seated herself on a bench next to him and began to reshuffle the pages in the notebook she carried. Next, she had pulled from her bag a worn copy of Shakespeare's Sonnets. Flipping through it, she had found her marked place and began to read, thus shutting out the rest of the world.

He had watched her as she read, sometimes leaning over and reading over her shoulder. He could not help but notice that her eyes had somehow taken on a faraway look. This seemed to indicate an internal desire that she carried about leaving this place and going into another.

Contrary to his inner voice telling him to speak to her, the chocolatier had been unable to do so. This young woman seemed so different, but there was an uncanny realness in her that he knew was not always present in people.

Somehow, he could relate to her on so many levels.

At any rate, he now sat still and stared down at her sleeping form. Although the memories carried him away, somehow, they also drew him back to that particular moment.

The scars from the attack would no doubt remain with her for the rest of her life, the bite marks across her cheek would leave her somewhat disfigured. Each and every time she would look into a mirror, she would no doubt be reminded of this agonizing night.

Of course, in the chocolatier's heart of hearts, there was a beauty in her that went beyond all things physical. He reached over and touched her face, his eyes closing. "I'm so sorry this happened to you, Kelsey," he whispered more to himself than to her. "If only I had come sooner, perhaps I could have done something to prevent this from happening."

He inhaled as he removed his hand and watched as a green headed, orange faced Oompa Loompa approached where he was sitting. With a gloved pair of hands, the devoted worker bade the confectioner to stand up. When he did, it became clear that the chair's upholstery now matched that of the disheveled man who had once occupied it.

"You must go change, Sir," the short woman said. "She will be alright, myself and the other ladies in our nursing circle will tend to her needs while you are away."

"Thank you, Kiara," he said softly. "I will be back without delay."

"Take all the time you need, Sir, she will be just fine. After all, you did entrust us to stitch up her wounds and to get her bathed and dressed. You can rest assured that I will keep an eye on her while you go and clean up as well," she said as she reached up and squeezed his arm, a reassuring smile shadowing her face.

Willy nodded, but slowly walked with weighted steps towards the door that led out of the room. He stopped momentarily before turning around and looking at his kind-hearted worker for several seconds before completely leaving the room.

He finally knew that the woman on the bed was named Kelsey, but that was all he had to go on aside from a few blood soaked books, a mangled jacket, and a chewed up library card. She had no doubt been walking from the library to her home when this heinous event occurred.

Willy climbed into the great glass Wonkavator and pressed the button that would send him zipping across the factory at breakneck speed in the direction of his quarters.

He yawned, for the first time that evening, all the while acknowledging that he was tired. The events of the day had left him feeling quite worn out.

When the Wonkavator arrived at his quarters, he retrieved a small key from one of his many pockets, stuck it in the door's lock, and turned it slowly.

Coming inside, he looked around the neat and tidy room. Perhaps I ought to do this in the Inventing Room, he thought, all the while trying to distract himself from his uncomfortable feelings. He approached the closet where his clothing was generally kept. Without thinking about what he was doing, he pulled a fresh shirt and pants from the cabinet. Tossing them on the bed, he went over and opened a drawer. From it, he retrieved some undergarments and a pair of socks.

Collecting all of the clothing except for the socks, he retreated into a bathroom that was about the size of a small boutique. He stacked the clothing on a counter before making a beeline straight for the shower. Before getting undressed, he turned on the water.

As the hot water filled the room with a strange fog, he discarded the blood-soaked garments and climbed into the large shower. It felt so good to be there, the water washing away the remnants of dried blood and caked mud. He stuck his head under the shower nozzle and allowed the water to drench his curly blonde hair. Next, he reached for a bottle of shampoo and quickly set about with washing his hair.

Instead of savoring the feel of the water as he normally did, he quickly rinsed himself off before turning off the water. He reached over and grabbed a large bath towel and wrapped it snugly around his body. A second towel he used to wrap his head.

Throughout this time, his thoughts were never far from Kelsey. He knew that the girl was generally alone, as he had never actually seen her in the company of another person. She seemed to be more or less a loner just like him. He took a deep breath and quickly got dressed, all the while ignoring the fact that his hair was still wet and untamed. Instead of paying it any mind, he swiftly raked a comb through it before tossing it onto the sink and leaving the bathroom. The only thing that he bothered to do prior to his departure was to open the small window so as to air out the room.

Once he had emerged from the bathroom, he went over and grabbed a waistcoat, but opted to leave the vest and bowtie behind. He pulled the garment on and in a fluid motion seated himself on the bed. He retrieved the socks and quickly pulled them on his feet before reaching for a pair of shoes.

Coming out of his room several minutes later, he pulled the door closed, pocketed the keys, and walked quickly to the Wonkavator.

* * *

Several minutes later, he had returned to the room where Kelsey lay. She was still asleep as he entered the room. He smiled slightly all the while acknowledging that the shower had done wonders for him. He came over to the bed and noticed that Kiara was still seated next to the bed, the Oompa Loompa keeping silent vigil over the girl.

"I'm back," he said weakly. "How is she?"

"The same as she was before you left," she responded but slowly got up so that he could take the seat next to the bed. "Theo and Shay switched out the chairs so you can sit comfortably, Mr. Wonka."

"Thank you." He said graciously as he allowed his body to literally collapse into the chair while the Oompa Loompa made her way across the room.

Instead of paying her any mind, Willy took a deep breath, his attention diverting back to Kelsey's sleeping form. "I probably should have told you who I was so that you would know that there is no reason for you to be afraid," he whispered to the sleeping girl. "I promise I will tell you first thing tomorrow."

He reached beneath the covers and took one of her hands and held it tightly in his. "I won't let anything else happen to you, Kelsey. You're safe and can stay here as long as you would like."

"You do know her, don't you?" Kiara asked upon hearing his heartfelt words.

"I do, yes, albeit not so well as I would like," he admitted. "I had often seen her in the park. It's strange I know, but I always thought that she was an interesting person even though we had never really spoken."

"Why did you not speak to her?" Kiara asked gently.

"I don't know, perhaps we were both too shy to initiate a conversation," he said honestly. "I wanted to talk to her, but I never knew what to say. There was a part of me that related to her, that somehow understood her. It was in ways that others may not really comprehend."

"Perhaps you should have," she said. "After all, you hold a great deal of significance, and your acceptance of her could have an impact on her."

"Perhaps you're right, but I was afraid. You see, although I tried not to listen, I had often heard rumors that surrounded her. People would say that no one really knew her name, but yet they recognized her by sight. Kiara, somehow it felt rather like I was looking at my reflection in a mirror whenever I would look at her. I was somehow seeing what I might have become had I not started this factory. I could have become very much like her, I think."

"You are attracted to her, are you not?" She asked.

"I don't know what I feel," Willy said honestly. He looked down at the limp hand of the young woman and shook his head. "I have often wished that I could have spoken to her; to find out what she likes or feels, but I never did. Now, as I am sitting here and looking down at her, I regret it. Does that make any kind of sense?"

"You are seeing an image of yourself in her," Kiara said wisely. "You are wondering if she could possibly see that same thing in you, correct?"

"I don't know," Willy said as he looked back down at Kelsey's face. "If she sees me and knows who I am, I'm afraid that it might scare her."

"Or she might embrace it. You did save her life, and although she may be grateful, she may also feel a sense of love towards you," Kiara said as she rested her hand on the chocolatier's shoulder. "Perhaps, the only one who is really afraid, is you. You don't wish to experience what some would call 'rejection', and from the looks of this young lady, it would appear to me as though she has far more to risk than you do. Just talk to her when she awakens and find out if what she is feeling mirrors what you are feeling."

The wise words of the Oompa Loompa were the last words Willy consciously remembered, as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

For her part, the loyal worker went across the room, reached for a blanket, shook it out before bringing it over and covering him with it. As soon as she had done that, she slipped quietly from the room.


	4. Part 3: A New Friend

_Thanks to YaYa for reading and reviewing. This next update is for you with my sincerest thanks._

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**Part 3: A New Friend**

The following morning, Willy stirred and shifted, but wearily opened his eyes to see that the sun was shining into the room where Kelsey lay. The girl had, thanks to his sleeping syrup, slept peacefully throughout the night.

He opened his eyes and noticed that he was still seated right beside her. He had no doubt fallen asleep during his nighttime vigil next to her bed. He could not believe that he had confessed such feelings of attraction and concern when he had only seen her a handful of times in the park. Yet, this was exactly what had transpired during the course of one night.

He remembered that the chair he had used prior to showering and changing had been switched out and he was seated comfortably in a larger one with a blanket that now covered him.

He raised his hand and raked it casually through his hair, the curly locks somehow maintaining a frizzy and unmanageable appearance. It generally happened when he did not take the time to use some hair cream on his unruly hair.

At this moment, however, he ceased to care about that.

Taking a deep breath he shoved the blanket off but grabbed it and shook it out before folding it haphazardly. He walked across the room and tossed it casually on the sofa that was up against the opposite wall.

Kiara must have covered him with it after he had drifted off to sleep, he thought. This sort of attentiveness was rather a trait present in his loyal workers and one that he deeply appreciated. Instead of contemplating this further, he returned to the chair, seated himself, before rubbing the persistent sleep out of his eyes.

Without thinking, he cast a brief glance towards the window just before returning his focus to the girl lying on the bed. He could tell, even from where he was standing that she was still asleep, the soft sighs making her chest rise and fall beneath the covers on the bed.

He returned to her side and simply leaned over where she rested and tried to fold back the gauze that covered her eyes. She had been so afraid the night before and he figured that if she could at least see him present with her, that this might actually ease her tension somewhat.

Quietly, he managed to fold the soft gauze back over her forehead so that he could now see her closed eyes.

As he finished this particular task, he noticed that she had shifted and a soft moan emerged from between her lips. She licked them slowly, but allowed herself to stretch somewhat, her body no doubt still feeling exhausted by what had transpired the night before. A second moan emerged and he could tell that she was still in pain. Seconds passed and he watched as she wearily opened her eyes. Willy remained seated, but allowed her the time she needed to focus her gaze on the brightness of the room. Seconds passed until she began to take in her surroundings.

He waited as she took a weary breath and shook her head in denial as she eventually recognized that he was seated next to her. Instinctively, he watched as she clamped her eyes closed. It seemed blatantly clear that she was half expecting the worst to happen.

"W-where am I?" She whispered, her voice emerged with unhidden shakiness.

Willy inhaled but instead of initially speaking, he clasped his hands together for several moments. Instead of responding to her question, he willed himself to speak, his words soft as they filled the room. "Open your eyes, Kelsey. Sometimes seeing the truth is better than simply fearing the worst."

Hearing these words emerging from him, the girl slowly opened her eyes. "A-are you the man f-from last n-night?" She asked, her voice filled with anxiety. She pulled her hand from beneath the covers, but instead of reaching towards her face, she extended her hand out towards him.

Willy nodded as he accepted her offered hand in both of his. "Yes, I brought you here so that you could get better." As he spoke, he noticed that she was trying to sit up. Instead of speaking further, he released her hand and with both of his, he gently moved them to her shoulders. Insistently, he forced her back against the pillows, her body tensing in response to his action. "I didn't intend to scare you by doing that, but you've been seriously injured and you still need to rest. Too much movement is not good for you at the moment."

"I-I'm scared," she whispered as she looked up at him, her eyes still warily on her shoulders where his hands now rested. "Please don't hurt me."

"I'd never do anything to hurt you," Willy said softly, but moved his hands away from her shoulders. "I simply don't think you should try and move just yet."

"B-but, my class," she whispered.

"If you give me your full name, I'll have someone call the university and have you excused for the week," he said gently.

"The w-week?" As these two words emerged and filled the room, Willy watched as her eyes widened in shock. Despite her trying to conceal it, he could see that she was terrified. "W-what do you want with me?"

Taking a deep breath, the chocolatier allowed it to slowly release. She probably figured him for some crazy, demented sick man intent on keeping her a prisoner in the factory. "I want nothing from you, except perhaps to help you."

"H-help me?" She whispered.

He nodded. "Yes, Kelsey, to help you, but nothing more."

"Y-you want to help me," she repeated these words, her voice cracking from the dryness in her throat.

Willy, noticing this, reached for a small cup of water that was on the bedside table. Angling the straw somewhat, he held it in front of her lips. "Here, take a drink of water, that should help. You're obviously famished."

She nodded and took a sip of the offered liquid. As soon as she had managed to swallow some of it, she collapsed against the pillows, the simple act somehow taking the last remaining energy out of her. "I feel so weak," she whispered. "What did you do to me?"

"I did nothing to you, dear lady," he insisted, but took a deep breath before his next question emerged. "Kelsey, can you tell if you remember anything about last night just after you were attacked?"

"N-nothing," she whispered. "I d-don't really know what happened. It all happened so fast, and it hurt."

"Yes, I know," he said softly.

"H-how did I end up here?" She asked.

Willy took a deep breath. "I found you while I was out walking. You would have died if I had left you there. You had open wounds and lost some blood. So I brought you here and got you some medical help. You need some time to recover from what has happened to you. It was for that reason that I estimated you staying here the week."

"I want to go home…" she whispered.

"I know, this is all so strange and unfamiliar to you," he said. "Of course, I would like nothing more than to send you there straightaway, but I cannot."

"Why not?" She managed to speak.

"Because you need some time to recover from all of this and I would feel absolutely terrible if I were to send you home, all the while knowing that you were unable to take proper care of yourself," he took a deep breath before his next question emerged. "You live alone, don't you?"

"Y-yes," she whispered, but nodded slowly.

"I rest my case," he said softly.

"Y-you mean I can't help myself?" She whispered.

"No," he said gently. "But, will you let me help you, Kelsey?"

The young woman looked up at him, her eyes abruptly filling with tears. It was clear to her that he was right. She was hardly in any condition to properly care for herself. In fact, she was well aware of the fact that if she could not even sit up and properly drink water, then the chances of her being able to do much of anything were pretty remote. She did need help, and at this point, there was a handsome, compassionate man who was offering it. "Y-you want to help me?" She whispered as she looked down at her lap, the tears catching beneath her eyes.

"Yes," his next words emerged and instead of allowing her to keep her focus on her lap, he took her face in his hands and carefully tipped it up so that she would be looking at him. "I promise that once you get rested up and are able to look after yourself, then you will be able to leave here and can return home. I know that you want nothing more than to return to your life as it was before."

"Y-you really wouldn't hurt me?" Her question was soft, but laced with intimidation.

"No matter how many times you ask me that question, the answer will always be the same. I would never do anything to hurt you, Kelsey." He smiled slightly. "Some people may think that I have no scruples, but I would be a detestable beast if I were take advantage of you while you are a guest in my home."

Kelsey considered his words for some seconds. Licking her lips, she managed to offer him an insecure nod. "You look familiar to me," she whispered. "W-would you tell me your name?"

"I will tell you if you are able to assure me that you would not be afraid of being here," he said, his blue eyes meeting hers.

Instead of speaking, she nodded warily.

"It may seem hard for you to believe, but my name is Willy Wonka," he said, a gentle smile now gracing his lips.

"Willy Wonka?" She gasped. "Y-you mean the c-candy maker?"

"Yes," he said.

Without warning, Kelsey smiled slightly. "Really?"

"M-hum," he nodded.

"Does that mean we are inside the factory?" She asked as she looked around the room. "Is that where y-you brought me?"

Willy nodded. "Yes, does that frighten you?"

Wearily, she closed her eyes, but shook her head. "No, it just seems like something out of a dream…"

He took a deep breath as he remembered the words Kiara had spoken the night before. Kelsey indeed had a lot more to lose than he did. He reached for one of her hands and smiled when he enfolded her hand in his. "Perhaps when you feel up to it, I can show you around the factory a little bit. It might make your stay here not seem so excruciating."

"You really want to show me the factory?" She whispered.

The chocolatier smiled, but offered her a nod. "Of course, that is if you'd be interested in seeing it."

Without thinking Kelsey shyly opened her eyes and looked up at him. "I-is this a dream?" She whispered, her voice laced with weariness.

"No, it's not a dream," Willy said. "It is perhaps the only thing that I can do that might convince you of my sincerity." As his words filled the room, he suddenly could see that instead of her gaze being elsewhere, she was now looking up at him.

Seconds passed and her eyes abruptly filled with tears. "Why d-did y-you help me?"

He smiled. "I had to. I couldn't have left you out there all alone, I'm not that cruel."

This answer instead of offering comfort caused her to begin crying softly. As these sounds emerged, one of her hands reached up to touch her face. Before she could complete that action, Willy had taken both of her hands in his. "I c-could have died last night."

Willy wound his fingers gently around hers and squeezed gently before releasing the hold. "You could have, but you didn't."

She continued to weep softly, her body still trembling.

"You need to calm down, Kelsey," he said gently. "If you get too excited, then you could end up doing something drastic like popping your stitches." He paused, his words still hanging in the air until his next statement emerged. "Everything is going to be alright, just trust me."

"Mr. W-Wonka," she mumbled amidst the tears.

He gently placed his fingers over her lips. "Shhh, don't try to speak, if it's too painful for you. You need to conserve your strength. But, I think that given that you have yet to tell me your last name, perhaps you should just call me Willy. After all, I'm not all that much older than you." He started to get up but stopped when her voice broke into his thoughts.

"I must l-look really terrible to you…" she whispered.

"You don't look so bad," he said noncommittally. "You just need to get some rest."

"But I'm so ugly…" she cried.

"No you're not, don't talk like that," he said softly. "What happened to you was a cruel and dreadful incident, but you are by no means what you perceive yourself to be. You were physically attacked, Kelsey. You cannot expect another person to actually believe these horrible things that you say about yourself." Instead of continuing, he reached over and touched her face. He brushed his fingertips lightly against her uninjured cheek, and smiled down at her.

They sat in companionable silence for several minutes before she found the courage to speak, her next words bringing him out of his reverie.

"It w-was a d-dog," she continued to cry softly, her voice cracking.

"A dog did this to you?" Willy was horrified. "You mean one of those attack dogs?"

She nodded numbly. "I think so, I s-saw it in the park last night, and I got so scared. I tried to run away, but it attacked and I didn't know what to do."

"You must really be afraid of dogs for things to have happened in the manner that they did," he said, his voice gentle. "Generally, running away from a dog is perhaps the most unwise thing one could do in that sort of situation."

She bit down on her lip. "I was so stupid, b-but I got attacked by one when I was little and this reminded of that, and how it was so scary."

Willy took a deep breath. "I can understand that, and it's alright," he said softly. "I think that everyone is afraid of something at one time or another, but you need to remember that you were not stupid for having been afraid."

She closed her eyes for a moment, but when she opened them again, she could see him still sitting beside her. After several seconds, she spoke, her voice soft. "It's Henderson."

"I beg your pardon?" He asked.

"My last name," she said softly. "Y-you said that you could have someone call the university for me and let them know I won't be in class this week."

Willy smiled gently. "Then that's what we'll do and you'll stay here and recover."

She nodded as relieved smile gracing her face. "Thank you."

The Chocolatier, upon seeing that simply returned the gesture.


	5. Part 4: The Beginning of the Truth

_AN: This story, because of Ajestice's review has been extended to six parts instead of four. I guess when I finished this story some days ago, I had left an overt hole in it, which I hope has now been rectified. Yes, I wouldn't mind taking this Willy Wonka home myself. So nice and kind and cute and cuddly and caring and…_

_Gotta Love Wilder Wonka! OK, I'll stop sounding like the oldest fangirl on the planet now! Mwah!_

_Ya Ya, as always, thanks for jumping in and reviewing this. I'm so glad you enjoy it._

_As I said, this is not the last chapter, this story is several pages left from being finished._

_Enjoy and please review._

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**Part 4: The Beginning of the Truth**

The days passed quickly and Kelsey began to heal from her experiences in the park. Although, she had spent a great deal of time sleeping, she found herself not wishing to emerge from the safe confines of her room. She had grown to trust the fact that Willy wanted nothing more than to help in her recovery, but she still felt intimidated at the prospect of having a look beyond the safe familiarity of her room.

It was through these unique dialogues with the chocolatier that she eventually found the courage to confide the specific details of what had happened during and after the attack. She felt shame as she related to him how the dog's owner had left her bleeding and injured on the ground.

What she did not expect was for Willy's reaction to be as intense and heartfelt as it was. It was plain to see that he could not believe how a person would put their own welfare ahead of someone who was in a life or death kind of situation. What had initially startled her, soon gave way to her accepting that reaction stemmed from overwhelming disbelief as well as caring.

"I am going to find that poor excuse of a human being if it's the last thing I do," he had exclaimed upon hearing her words. The hostility and anger that he carried somehow grew with each syllable he spoke. "And when I do, he will be sorry he ever allowed this to happen at all."

Kelsey was initially afraid upon hearing these words emerging from the chocolatier. In fact, she was completely taken aback that he was so insistent on defending her. He had even put a protective arm around her as he made the solemn promise to shelter her.

She had, as a result of his outburst, buried her face against the crock of his shoulder, all the while choosing to say nothing.

Soon after that event, Willy had called the police and Kelsey found herself being inundated with questions. The police had come and she had offered a statement about the man who had callously left her in the park. She did not offer them very much to go on, but she was able to remember the words he had spoken prior to taking his leave.

Eventually, the news of her attack was reported in the local paper, thus persuading the public to keep their eyes open for the man and his attack dog.

Although Kelsey had been hurt by what had happened, Willy had insisted that she concentrate on recovering instead of focusing on the fact that she had been assaulted.

Agreeing with him, she found herself paying more attention to her work. The desk that had once been covered with medications and ointments, was now strewn with books, papers, pens, and highlighters. The over all essence of the room was quite reminiscent of a college student's living quarters.

On the fifth day since the attack and her having come to the factory, Kelsey was now delved into the research that she had unavoidably put off. Now she was slowly returning to her schedule of reading, studying, and research. Of course, she somehow knew that this was indicative of her shutting out the rest of the world once again.

Willy had, during this time, managed to pull volumes down from his own personal library for her to use. He remained hopeful that she would find healing through continuing her thesis research, but he was growing increasingly concerned that she was spending far too many hours of the day working.

On this particular Friday afternoon, Kelsey had started working early in the morning and had managed to work through to lunchtime. Her stomach had started to growl as the noon hour approached and passed, but instead of paying it any mind, she continued to work.

Now, contrary to the tray that still sat untouched on the table nearby, she had managed to shut everything out. That included the appearance of Willy's apprentice, Charlie Bucket, who had brought the tray in the first place.

After having left it on the table, the boy had awkwardly left the room, thus leaving her once again alone with her work.

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About an hour after Charlie's impromptu visit to her room, Kelsey was so immersed in her work that she did not seem to notice that the door to her room had suddenly opened and closed, thus announcing the presence of another visitor. 

Instead of raising her head, she kept it lowered, all the while not noticing that Willy had come over to where she was sitting. In his hands he carried a newspaper which he placed on the table before silently resting his hands on her shoulders.

Upon feeling this, she cried out, the sounds abruptly piercing the air and causing the confectioner to unconsciously cringe. From her hand, the ballpoint pen was literally thrown across the room.

Taking a deep breath, he released it slowly as his hold loosened somewhat and he began to speak. "It's alright Kelsey, it's only me. I didn't mean to startle you."

She slowly turned around and looked up at him, a light blush tingeing her cheeks. "I-I'm sorry," she mumbled shyly.

Willy cast a glance towards the food and then looked at her. "It's quite alright. I didn't want to distract you from your work, but there's something I needed to show you."

"Show me?" She repeated his words without consciously realizing it.

"That dastardly fiend with the attack dog was arrested last night in the park. The police caught him in a sting operation. Basically, he let his dog loose to attack someone who turned out to be an undercover officer," Willy smiled as he reached for the paper and unfolded it so she could see the front page.

"It would seem that they discovered how he was allowing his dog to attack people in this horrible fashion. No one was hurt last night, but they did find the blood from your attack on the ground and they were able to trace it back to the man's apartment."

"Why would someone do something like that?" She asked weakly, her eyes closing.

"My guess is because they're cruel and heartless," he said simply. Instead of allowing her to continue pondering this, he cast the paper to one side. "That chapter of your life is now happily behind you, Kelsey. You may have to testify, but that will be easier when compared to what has already happened."

"How do you figure?" She asked.

"Easy, when that happens, you won't be alone," he affirmed, his voice firm with conviction. "I'll be standing right there beside you."

"I'm glad," she whispered. "I figured that once everything was alright, I would be forcing myself to hunt down that jerk so that I could bite him myself." These words emerged much differently than intended. Of course, what surprised her was Willy's response to them.

"Perhaps, but I really don't think that would taste very good and you'd probably get incurably sick from it." He smirked at her, his blue eyes flashing mischievously.

"You're funny," she said. Despite the earnestness of their conversation, she laughed.

"I'm glad I can amuse you," he said, all the while still smiling. He shifted his attention to the tray that Charlie had brought. "Speaking of eating, you really should have eaten something here. One does not live on books and study alone. After all, you are still recovering and need to conserve your strength."

"Maybe," she whispered as she looked down at her arm and then touched her cheek where the crisscrossed stitches still lined her face. "The only way I can feel better is to work on this. At least writing about the evolution of the English language is better than trying to accept the fact that I look like Frankenstein's monster now."

"No you don't," Willy said. When she did not respond to this, he backed away and retrieved a chair. As he pulled it over, he seated himself next to her and reached for the tray and pulled it closer. Once he was able to remove the lid from the dish, he looked down at the food that was inside. It was still hot, and the tantalizing smells suddenly filled the room. "Mmm, fish and potatoes, not bad. This is a far cry better than what I had for lunch."

"What did you have?" She asked curiously.

"Spaghetti and meatballs," he said smiling coyly. "I'm so sick of Italian food. Between you and me, it sometimes feels like we're in the middle of Rome or something."

She returned the gesture, but started to cut the fish into bite sized pieces. "That's what I'm used to, actually," she confessed. She watched as he forked a bite of the fish. Not even bothering to ponder why it was there were two sets of utensils on the tray, she took a bite of the boiled potato. "This is really good," she said once she had swallowed the bite.

Willy nodded as he took a few bites of the food, but left most of it for her.

Five minutes later, after she had finished eating, she reached for a napkin and wiped her mouth. "You were right," she said.

"What about?" He asked.

She motioned towards the tray, but instead of speaking, she started to reach for a pen as well as her notebook.

What she did not expect was for him to reach over and lightly touch her healthy cheek. She raised her head slowly as he spoke. "I think that the food was not the only thing you needed. Right now, I think you should take a break from all of this. Maybe a change of scenery will do you some good."

"I can't," she said sadly.

"Of course, you can, you need time for yourself to come to grips with everything that has been happening," he said gently. "Come on, Kelsey, maybe after today, you won't be sitting here working for all the wrong reasons. That is, maybe for once, you can divert your thoughts away from some idea that tells you that you are something less than beautiful. You should not use your studies as a means to avoid confronting how you feel about yourself."

He reached for her hand and once he held it, he smiled warmly at her. Seconds slowly ticked by before she could reciprocate the hold that he now had exerted on her hand. As this was happening, she automatically allowed him to help her stand up.

Once they were both on their feet, she cast a glance back towards the books that were scattered across the table.

"Not to worry," Willy said as he folded her hand over his arm and smiled down at her. "No one will disturb your work. It will be here just as you left it when you come back. Now, come."

"Y-you don't have anything more pressing to do?" She asked shyly.

Willy smiled, but shook his head adamantly. "No, I took the afternoon off because I made a promise to you some days ago. Besides, I need a break, too."

With that, he slowly led her out of the room.


	6. Part 5: The Chocolate Room

_Hi everyone, here's hoping that you will enjoy this latest installment. After this part, there is only one more part and then this story is finished. I hope that you all enjoy the latest installment._

_Also forgive me for not clarifying this sooner, this story is a Wilder Wonka story, that is it is based on the 1971 film 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory'. Most of my stories, unless specified are Wilder Wonka stories. I cannot really write the 05 Wonka as well as some of my contemporaries can, so I have opted to presenting the stories with my preferred Wonka, the one Ya Ya, Ajestice, and I will probably end up arguing about once this story is finished. (teehee) _

_Ya Ya, so glad that you didn't get attacked. I came very close when I was a kid, but this idea actually came because of a very tragic news story from several years ago where a child was killed by an attack dog. For the record, I do have certain fears with regard to dogs, so I guess Kelsey's panic seemed to match my own. I am not a dog person, I prefer cats._

_Now for a scene in one of our very favorite places in the factory... _

_Please read and review._

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**Part 5: The Chocolate Room**

Several minutes after leaving her room, Willy and Kelsey were standing at the door leading into the Chocolate Room. He looked at her and smiled before lowering his head and deactivating the lock. The soft swells of music filled her ears before he pushed the door open and ushered her inside.

As they entered, Kelsey's eyes were wide as she started to take in the room. An overall feeling of joy somehow washed over her as she stared out across the candied landscape. "Oh my God," she whispered, the awe laced in her voice.

"This is my masterpiece," he said, his soft words filling her ears as she felt his hand resting lightly on her shoulder.

Without thinking, she glanced down at the simple cotton dress that she wore. It suddenly felt as though she was underdressed for such an occasion. After several seconds had passed, she raised her head, her gaze lingering on the man who was now standing beside her.

Kelsey wanted to ask him if all of this was just a dream, as it felt too wonderful to be real. Along those same lines, she figured that if she were to pinch herself, that she would wake up back in her room amidst a stack of dusty old books.

I've had dreams that somehow resembled this, her thoughts continued to consume the rest of her senses. She pulled her arm out of his hold so that she could self-consciously wrap them around herself.

Willy watched her reaction, all the while pondering what thoughts were cursing through her mind. Instead of immediately speaking, he wrapped a gentle arm around her shoulders and smiled down at her. "Are you alright, Kelsey?" He eventually asked.

"I think so," she managed to speak as she instinctively rested her head against his shoulder. "If this is a dream, I don't ever want to wake from it."

The chocolatier smiled. "It's not a dream," he said softly, but with his hold still on her, he urged her towards the stairs that descended into his candied paradise.

Without thinking about what she was doing, she raised her hand and covered his as she allowed him to ease her closer and closer to the beauty that stretched out before them.

As they reached the landing, he spoke. "What would you like to see first?"

"I-I don't know," she whispered nervously. She closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again. When she saw him standing and still looking down at her, she took a deep breath and spoke, her voice filled with uncertainty. "It's strange, but I sort of figured that you didn't want to spend time with me."

"Why would I not want to spend time with you?" Willy asked, a slight smirk crossing his face.

"I'm boring," she responded, the two words somehow filled with honest simplicity. When he did not respond to her simple confession, she continued, her voice cracking. "I figured that once I was better, you would send me away from here so that your life could get back to normal."

Willy took a deep breath, his arm still wrapped gently around her. From the looks of things, it appeared as though he did not seem at all willing to move it. Instead, he wound a strand of her hair around his finger and spoke. "You know, I think 'normal' is quite overrated. Aside from that, I did make a promise about showing you the factory. Contrary to how you may feel about me, I'm actually rather fond of your company."

As these words hung in the air, he watched as she shyly looked away. He took a deep breath, before continuing to speak. "I suppose I figured that you didn't want to spend time with me, that I was not interesting enough."

"But you are," she whispered more to herself than to him. "Willy, you're the most magical person I've ever met in my life."

"Yet, after all those times when I'd see you walking in the park, I concluded that you were too busy to want to stop or take time to talk to me," he said.

"You were the man from the park?" She asked weakly, a bashful smile suddenly crossing her face.

"M-hum," he nodded.

"And y-you came out just to see me?" She whispered with unhidden surprise.

"Don't be so surprised," he smiled smugly. "You probably figured me for a introverted recluse, but maybe I am not as much so as you thought. Or maybe I am because I somehow found myself relating to you."

Kelsey lowered her head. "I never knew, although I…" her voice trailed.

"…You?" He smiled at her.

"I had hoped that I would one day meet you," she confessed. "It's stupid, but I always had a picture of you in this book that I hid among some notebooks back at home. When I saw you the day the Golden Ticket winners were here, I envied them because you looked so nice. I mean; I liked you and I couldn't really explain why."

"You liked me?" He smiled at the irony of her statement, but this time he could not conceal the fact that his blue eyes had started to shine. "Who would have thought?"

"But, I couldn't say so because I-I didn't really know you," she lowered her head, but before she could keep it that way, he reached over and took her face carefully in his hands. With his left hand, he cupped her chin, while his right hand stroked the uninjured skin. As she felt this, her eyes slid closed.

"I don't really know what compelled me to do what I did. I had not really met you before you came to the factory, but somehow I knew that I liked you and wanted to get to know you better," he said with smile. Wordlessly, he lowered his hands as they reached the bank of the chocolate river. He then removed his hat and sat down on the ground.

She remained standing, but soon noticed that he was offering his hands up to her. Bashfully, she accepted his offered assistance and managed to sit down on the ground beside him. At that moment, she found her voice and spoke, a single word emerging. "Why?"

"I don't really know," he said softly. "Maybe because it was always nice and refreshing to see someone who was not always trying to fit in with the crowd. You remained an individual and I could somehow relate to that."

"I guess I never did get into the latest styles," she said with a slight shrug of her shoulders.

"It's good that you didn't, because it would rob you of your brand of uniqueness," he said, his gaze darting down to his clothes before looking back over at her. "I realized that the day that you lost your notes and I was able to retrieve them. Do you remember that?"

"I remember someone helping me, but I never thought or even realized that that someone was you," she confessed.

"Afterwards, we sat on a bench together and I watched as you started to read Shakespeare," he smiled. "You seemed to be trying to shut out the rest of the world, but I was sitting there reading over your shoulder." He cleared his throat, "'Lady, you bereft me of all words, only my blood speaks to you in my veins, and there is such confusion in my powers'."

"That was what I was reading, it was something for one of my classes," she said. "How could you have remembered that?"

"I just did," he smiled. "I somehow remember a lot of things like that, quotations and sayings. They just stay in my mind and are repeated on command." He paused, his expression growing serious. "Kelsey, did it not surprise you that I had all those books that you needed for your thesis?"

"A little," she admitted. "You have everything that I could possibly need for it. I mean; I could just stay here and do my research and not have to go through the park…" her voice trailed and she shuddered. "I mean; I could borrow these books and finish my thesis at home..."

"Whatever you wish," he said cordially.

"You mean; you'd let me borrow them?" She asked.

"Yes, or you could just stay here and finish it as you just said," he offered. "You wouldn't have to walk through a park every night by yourself and I wouldn't mind having you here."

"You're suggesting all of this because you were sitting beside me in the park," she said softly. "I feel so stupid, I didn't even recognize you."

Willy shrugged his shoulders. "Don't be so hard on yourself, I simply planned my walks each time so that I could see if you were in the park as well. I wanted to approach and speak with you, but I couldn't find the courage. Instead, I simply waited and learned whatever I could about you. In that short span of time, I came to the realization that you are perhaps one of the most fascinating people I have ever encountered."

"Me 'fascinating'?" She asked. "Is that another word for 'ugly' or 'homely'?"

"No, actually, the other words for 'fascinating' are 'attractive', 'mesmerizing', 'charming', and 'interesting'," he smiled, but after several seconds, he took a deep breath. "You don't think very much of yourself, do you?"

"Look at me," she whispered. "That dog made me look even worse than I was before, and even then, I was not much."

Willy inhaled slowly. "Kelsey, your physical state does not define how attractive or interesting you are, it is what's inside of you that really counts."

"That's easy for you to say, you're gorgeous," she muttered before she could even stop these words from emerging. As they hung in the silence of the Chocolate Room, she covered her face with both hands and shook her head in profound disbelief. She had no idea that she would ever have the courage to say that to him.

Willy's face abruptly flushed crimson, but he took a deep breath as he inched closer to where she sat. "You know, I have had people describe me as 'strange', 'weird', 'eccentric', and even 'bizarre', but I've never had anyone tell me that I was 'gorgeous'." He wrapped a gentle arm around her and drew her closer to him, her face soon resting against his shoulder. "It feels very nice, Kelsey. Yet, at the same instance, I wonder what I could say that would make you believe that you are truly an extraordinary woman."

"Right now, I feel like Quasimodo," she objected.

"You're not," he said. "Maybe you feel that way because you don't like being different, but sometimes being different is also special. You are rather like a snowflake; unique, unusual, and one of kind. There's no other person or thing in this world that is quite like you. Society does not always accept people like that, but there are those of us who do. We embrace it and we love it. You see, you may not accept that part of yourself that is different, but I do. In fact, I prefer it because I'm rather different myself." Instead of elaborating on that, he cocked his head to one side and smiled at her.

"People don't put you down for being different," she objected. "They look up to you."

"Oh Kelsey, they don't look up to me, they admire what I do," he said. "There's a subtle difference, my dear. Sometimes standing out in a crowd causes others to avoid you; but sometimes it can inspire some truly wonderful things to come about. It is through accepting that, that the music makers and dreamers burst forth with their magic."

"Like being in this place," she whispered, her voice cracking.

"No, it's not a place inasmuch as it is a state of mind." Willy leaned over and lightly touched the tip of her nose with his finger. "Don't you see? All the things that you see in me are in you, otherwise you would not be able to see or acknowledge them. The magic is you, it always has been."

"You say things that make me feel pretty inside," she whispered.

The chocolatier reached over and brushed a lock of her hair out from in front of her face. "It's because you _are_ pretty. You're more than pretty, Kelsey, you're beautiful. The only thing is, you have to let other people see that same quality that I do."

"How?" She asked.

"Well, I see it every time you smile at me. The day you thanked me for catching your notes, you captured something inside of me that remained to this day. What was it that Helen Keller once said? 'The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen, nor touched ... but are felt in the heart'."

Kelsey closed her eyes and bit down on her lip as the tears streamed down over her face. "That's just it," she eventually found her voice and whispered from the confines of his gentle hold. "I don't feel beautiful, and it surprises me that you would even pay attention to someone like me."

As these words filled the room, Willy did not loosen his embrace, instead he tightened it. After several seconds had passed, and much to his surprise, he suddenly felt her relaxing in his arms.

He smiled slightly but leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "Kelsey, there's another quotation that I wish to share with you. It's from Oscar Hammerstein, II, and it says: 'Do you love me because I'm beautiful, or am I beautiful because you love me?'."

She raised her head and looked at him, her eyes widening slightly when she saw the chocolatier nodding affirmatively.

For whatever reason, Willy Wonka knew what was in her heart. From the simple act of looking at him, she suddenly realized how he had her pegged from the first moment they had met.


	7. Part 6: From the Heart

_OK, folks, this is the end of the story, and while I am grateful to all of you who read, I have to give a shout out to those kind people who actually took the time to review it. I wouldn't have been inspired to continue posting this without your supportive words, so thanks go out, specifically to YaYa, who really goes above and beyond the call of duty to let me know. So, I will respect you having first dibs (darn, I'm so unselfish, eh?)._

_So thanks to everyone for reading, this was based on the Gene Wilder portrayal, so before anyone asks me this question in my future stories, 99.0001 percent of my stories are Wilder Wonka stories. If I happen to write a story about the 05 film, I'll be sure to post that in the summary of the story so that everyone will know. Generally, because I write more obscurely than most here, I like to write there what Wonkaverse I am writing in. I was surprised when several people contacted me about which one this story was._

_I thought I was clear on it. Oh well…enjoy and please review…it does encourage me to write more of these small stories. Hope you like the sappy ending._

* * *

**Part 6: From the Heart**

As the reality of these words filled her, instead of feeling joy, Kelsey could somehow feel disgrace washing over her. He probably knew that she had often had these fantasies about him or somehow could read her heart as though an open book. After all, she had given some of her secrets away when she had told him that to her he was 'gorgeous'. These words had somehow slipped from between her lips before she could even stop them from emerging.

Instead of acknowledging the discomfort that seemed to emanate her, Willy took a deep breath. "Kelsey, didn't you ever consider that perhaps there's a reason for everything that happens? I actually brought you here because the things that you perceive about me, are the same as what I perceive about you."

"But, those days in the park, you had only seen me," she whispered. "We never really talked."

"Perhaps not," he smiled mysteriously. "When I found you on the ground several days ago, my heart ached for you, and I suddenly remembered all those times when I had held my tongue and not said a word. If I had found the courage to speak to you before that day's events, then you would probably have not have been hurt at all. I blame myself, you see."

"But it wasn't you, it was a dog, and it was because I got scared," she whispered.

"I know that, but still I was able to understand a bit better because of what was happening with me," he tried to explain. "How many times have you looked back on an event in your life and asked yourself, if I could have gone through that experience one more time, what would have happened had I reacted differently?"

Instead of responding to these words, Kelsey lowered her head, but reached up with her hand and lightly touched the stitches that crisscrossed her cheek. "I have, ever since this happened."

"Yes, I know," he began. "Shall I tell you the truth, Kelsey?"

"If you want to," she whispered.

Willy took a deep breath, his hand reaching over and touching her cheek in the same place where the stitches were, the coarseness of the thread scratching his soft fingertips. He lowered his hand and smiled gently at her. "When I recognized that it was you who had been hurt the other night, I decided that instead of taking you to a hospital, I would bring you here. Perhaps it was selfish of me to want to have you here, but I was remembering the times before when I would see you in the park and had said nothing to you. I pondered if I had reacted towards you in the very same way that society had often acknowledged you."

"You mean as a freak," she said softly.

He took a deep breath. "You're not a freak, but somehow I could see that you were alone. Somewhere deep down inside of me, I began to accept that you are a sort of mirrored reflection of myself. I watched you and felt for you because I related to you. When I brought you here, it was amidst all the chastising I was doing with myself. I was wondering why I had never found the courage to speak to you. In reality, I suppose I never really knew what to say."

"But y-you saved my life," she whispered, the tears now streaming down over her face. "I prayed that someone would come and help me, and you were there."

"I did not want anything else to happen to you," he said softly. "Later, I felt dreadful about the prospect of knowing that someone whom I had grown to care for had experienced something so traumatic."

"C-care? Y-you mean; you care for me?" She whispered.

"Very much," he smiled.

"B-but I thought that you would think it was silly for someone like me to like you," she whispered. "It seems like I'm just an admirer who loves another because they are famous. It may sound strange to you, but I do."

Willy smiled, but instead of speaking, he leaned towards her with the intention of giving her a kiss. What he did not expect was for her to back up. Oh my, he thought with a trace of surprise, she's never been kissed. She probably doesn't even know what to expect. He smiled slightly at that realization. "Kelsey, I don't want you to be afraid of what may happen," He whispered.

She shook her head, but her eyes conveyed that she was. He watched as she bit down on her lip, but instead of allowing her to continue this action, he reached over and touched her mouth with his fingertips. When he noticed that she had released the hold, he nodded and smiled as he reached for her hand.

When he captured it, he took it and ceremoniously brought it close to his lips. "It's alright, my dear," he whispered as he ran his thumb over the top of her hand before lowering his head and pressing a gentle kiss to it.

He raised his head and smiled at her, his eyes shining as he regarded her. "There, you see, it's not anything bad."

"It's not," she affirmed as the unshed tears got caught in her eyes. Somewhere in the depths of her mind, she remembered a dream that had played out in a similar fashion. "Y-you really like me."

"Oh yes, very much. I knew it from the moment I found that paper in the park and heard you say 'thank you' that you were someone very special whom I could grow to care a great deal for." He leaned towards her, this time, she did not move, her body remained still as she felt him cup her face and bring it closer.

Abruptly, he stopped everything he was doing. "W-what is it?" She whispered, all the while believing that there was something seriously wrong with her.

Willy said nothing, instead he reached over and removed the glasses that covered her eyes. He placed them gently on the ground. "Close your eyes."

"Why?" She whispered nervously.

"Just trust me," he said softly. "I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."

Kelsey nodded as she allowed her eyes to close. Seconds later, she felt both of his hands touching either side of her face. This felt so nice to her and she allowed herself to completely relax in his hold. After several seconds, a new and wonderfully different sensation overwhelmed her. Briefly, she opened her eyes to discover that his lips were lovingly pressed against hers. For a brief instance, it felt as though prisms of light were dancing all around them.

The sensations were so beautiful that she allowed herself to fully experience what was happening. It was such a special feeling that filled her that she thought that she would awaken and find herself at home, instead in the middle of paradise. She opened her eyes for a second as his tender lips remained against hers.

Seconds later, and from a place that she did not know anything about, she began to weep softly. Moments passed and the kiss ended and he withdrew slightly, a gentle smile turning up the corners of his mouth. As he stared into her eyes, he saw the tears that had formed and were now streaming effortlessly down her cheeks.

Eventually, he spoke. "Don't cry, Kelsey, that was never my intent."

"That was so beautiful," she whispered.

He nodded, but reached over and wiped the tears from beneath her eyes. "Yes, it was." He leaned towards her and moved his hand to the back of her head, his fingers lightly stroking their way through her hair. When she did not move, he continued speaking, his words gently drawing her closer. "I know that you are afraid. Perhaps it might help if I were to tell you that I am as well. I've never really been in love before, and I don't know anything about it."

"Love?" She whispered, but before she could say another word, he did.

"I do know that finding you in the park and being able to help you has been an immense blessing to me. Maybe it was because I never had the courage to go up to you and engage you in dialogue. I do not know what was the matter with me. I only know that when I did find you, I had to act quickly."

"Willy, I…" She tried to find the words to speak, but when nothing further emerged from her, he continued.

"There is, you see, nothing more horrid than to look back one's life and experiences and having to realize and accept the truth that I never really did for you the things that I could have done. It reminded me in a rather cruel and ironic way that I would never have had the courage to meet and talk to you without these horrid circumstances coming about. I would have wished for you to have had a far better experience than the one you had. I suppose it somehow shows the extent of my cowardice."

She took a deep breath and leaned into his hold. "I thought I was too ugly for someone like you."

"You're not ugly, Kelsey," he whispered. "You're beautiful in that you have the capability of inspiring a man to emerge from his lonely existence and give him a reason to feel joy. You did that for me, and there is nothing in this world that is more beautiful than that." He once more took her face in his hands and gently kissed her waiting lips.

This time, the sensations were welcomed and returned.

As Kelsey felt herself being swept into the images that she believed to have only emerged from dreams, the truth of his words remained long after the kiss had broken.

From that day on, Kelsey Henderson never forgot that she was beautiful. Through her life-long friendship with Willy Wonka, she discovered that not only had he saved her physical life that fateful night, but he had also saved a part of her spiritual one as well.

The end.


End file.
